European supermarket chains face off with Nestle over prices

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FILE PHOTO - The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo

BRUSSELS/ZURICH (Reuters) - AgeCore, a group of European retailers including Belgium’s Colruyt (COLR.BR) and Switzerland’s Coop, has removed some Nestle (NESN.S) products from its shelves and is negotiating with the Swiss food group to secure better prices.

Belgium’s Colruyt, known for its no-frills, low-cost strategy, confirmed on Wednesday that it was an member of AgeCore and that negotiations were proceeding between AgeCore and Nestle.

“We are convinced that both parties, just as always, will reach an agreement,” it said in a statement, declining to provide further details.

Nestle said it regretted that its consumers could not currently access its products in some stores in Europe. It said it continued to negotiate in good faith and hoped to find an amicable solution soon to the “highly regrettable” situation.

Italian supermarket chain Conad said that AgeCore companies had reduced their purchases of Nestle products by around 20 percent, with negotiations underway over prices.

Reporting by Samantha Koester in Brussels, Elisa Anzolin in Milan, Angelika Gruber and Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Matthias Inverardi in Duesseldorf; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Georgina Prodhan